<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Peg the Halls by steviejoel69</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28333323">Peg the Halls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviejoel69/pseuds/steviejoel69'>steviejoel69</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>WSCU (Winn Schott Cinematic Universe) [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Arrow (TV 2012), DCU (Comics), Frog and Toad - Arnold Lobel, Supergirl (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015), Supergirl (TV 2015) RPF, The Flash (TV 2014), jeremy jordan - Fandom, winn schott cinematic universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, Christmas fic, Comfort, Cuddling, Dead bird, Gay, Gay Frogs, M/M, Sharing a Bed, alex is homophobic and gay, alex tries to commit crimes, christmas tree hunting, himbo mon el, lightly inspired by star trek enterprise episode five, mon el does commit crimes, no pegging This Time, no they cant have a peaceful holidy, one bed, tw dumbassery, winn is tired</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:34:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28333323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviejoel69/pseuds/steviejoel69</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two dumbasses attempt to purchase a tree. Winn ruins Christmas.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mon-El &amp; Winn Schott Jr., Mon-El/Winn Schott Jr.</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>WSCU (Winn Schott Cinematic Universe) [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031724</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Peg the Halls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I'm cold." Kara stated to no one in particular as she rubbed her hands together to create warmth. Alex popped the trunk of her car and Mon-El helped her unload the saw and twine from inside.<br/>
Mon-El lifted the twine from the trunk and sat it to rest in the snow before he began to take off his coat.<br/>
"Here you go Kara, you can have my coat." the Daximite smiled softly as he placed it over her shivering shoulders.<br/>
"Aww, thank you Mon-El! You don't have to do that!" Kara began to take the coat off to hand it back.<br/>
"No, no, take it. I insist! I don't need a coat anyway, I've got this awesome sweater I made anyway." Mon-El motioned proudly to the horrid scrap of red yarn clinging tightly to his jacked frame. 'Jingel Balls' was crudely scrawled across his chest in green yarn.<br/>
"I'm cold too…" whined Winn as he stepped out of the 1999 honda civic.<br/>
"I told you to wear a bigger coat, dumbass," Alex snarled as she zipped her own coat up over her waterproof snow pants.<br/>
"I'll have you know, this is the biggest coat I own" Winn said in defense and tightly crossed his arms in an attempt to block out the cold.<br/>
"You didn't even wear waterproof shoes! Winn, it's thirty degrees out and there is snow on the ground. Why don't you listen to me!! No one listens to me!" Alex threw her hands in the air, causing the saw in hand to swing up and almost slice the back of Mon-El’s head.<br/>
"Woah there, watch where you're swinging that thing!" Kara exclaimed, motioning to the saw.<br/>
Mon-El spun around and began to tug the awful scrap of red yarn off of his body in the (very busy) parking lot. "You can borrow my sweater, Winn!"<br/>
"No!" Everyone shouted in unison; a family dragging a tree back to their car turned to stare at the dysfunctional group in horror. One of the adults covered the child's eyes.<br/>
Mon-El looked around and smoothed the sweater down. He frowned.<br/>
"Winn will be fine." Alex said, picking up the pace, determined to make it into the farm without incident.<br/>
As they continued to walk through the parking lot, a nearby stranger swiftly stole a wallet out the back pocket of another man who was bent over to lift his tree. Kara's eyes snapped toward the scene and she abruptly stopped, staring at the offender as he got into his car.<br/>
"Kara no."<br/>
Kara's eye twitched.<br/>
"Kara, please, let's just have one day without fighting crime, this is going to take an hour at the most, <i>please</i>." Alex begged, but before she could even finish, Kara raced after the offender.<br/>
Alex rolled her eyes with frustration and began to undo her scarf. She shot a glare at Winn and Mon-El.<br/>
"I'm gonna go help miss hero, so just stay here, get the tree and we will be back shortly.” She threw her scarf at Winn’s chest and he fumbled with the accessory. “Here's thirty dollars. Winn you are in charge, do not fuck this up!" Disgaurding her scarf and the saw, the lesbian charged after her sister.<br/>
Winn and Mon-El looked at eachother dumbfounded as they stood at the entrance watching Alex disappear down the gravel drive.<br/>
"What just happened?" Winn asked, the thirty dollars crumpled in his reddened frozen hand.<br/>
Mon-El shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "Kara likes to chase cars. It's okay, I like to do it sometimes too."<br/>
Winn stared at the alien as he tried to process what had just happened. He shook his head.<br/>
"No… I don't- nevermind." Winn sighed as he looked at the soggy twenty and ten in his hand.<br/>
"Let's just go buy the tree and get out of this cold. I'm freezing." Winn wrapped Alex’s discarded scarf around his neck and took off.<br/>
The two men entered through the gate and made their way toward the labyrinth of evergreens.<br/>
They passed between two buildings. Outside of one building was a line of people with their children and people coming and going with bags of various Christmas goodies. The other was filled with people and their trees and lots of loud machinery. While Winn continued on his way, determined to find a good tree, Mon-El wandered off toward the loud machinery.<br/>
The alien moved curiously toward a young woman dressed as an elf. She was helping a middle-aged man put a Christmas tree into a strange looking contraption that seemed to be made of orange steel. Mon-El stood closely behind the woman and watched as she tied the tree in. The young woman, noticing his presence, looked up from what she was doing and stared back at him; she was much younger than Mon-El had originally assumed, but her eyes were glazed over with weariness.<br/>
"Can I help you?" She asked. There was a slight annoyance in her voice. Mon-El, however, took no notice of it.<br/>
"Oh! Yes, hello there Ms.-" Mon-El stopped for a moment, squinting at the sparkly name tag pinned to the front of her elf apron.<br/>
"Ms. T… twuh.. eenk… eeluh… too ee's?"<br/>
The elf raised one green eyebrow.<br/>
"Twinkletoes?" She said, staring at the man in disbelief.<br/>
Mon-El nodded and flashed a charming, but completely oblivious smile at the girl.<br/>
"Yes, of course! I can read english! That is the only language I have ever spoken, my native tongue! I live on earth! My name is Mike Matthews, I have proof." Mon-El whipped out the fake ID Winn had made for him back when they attempted to enter Mon-El into the workforce.<br/>
The young woman looked at his ID unamused.<br/>
"How can I help you, <i>Meye-kue Mat-thoos</i>?" She asked, mocking Mon-El’s illiterate tone, stone faced.<br/>
"Yes, uh, can I purchase a tree?" He asked very seriously.<br/>
The young woman blinked slowly, looking him in the eye for a bit before she rolled her eyes and continued what she was doing.<br/>
"Yeah... Knock yourself out. Go crazy!"<br/>
The woman pushed a button on the machine and it made a loud metallic clanging.<br/>
Mon-El attempted to say something else but the machine was so loud he decided the approval from the young elvish woman was enough and gave up.<br/>
He stared at the machine in awe as it seemed to shake the tree with absolute ease. He would have probably spent the rest of the day watching the trees be shaken out but the pine needles that shot out from the tree weren't exactly a pleasant feeling in the Daxomite’s eyes. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his skinny jeans, Mon-El continued to wander off further until he came upon another machine identical to the previous one. Mon-El looked at the machine and then at his surroundings. There were no elves or trees here, which meant this particular machine was free real-estate.<br/>
Mon-El stood on top of the machine and looked down. His hand found a red button with a caution sticker underneath it, but Mon-El couldn't read. Pressing said button made the machine begin its metallic whirring and started to jerk Mon-El up and down. Heh I am tree.<br/>
"Mon-El?" Winn’s voice came from afar but Mon-El could not hear it over the machinery.<br/>
Winns eyes strained as he searched the farm multiple times.<br/>
<i>He's a giant, dumb, beautiful, incredibly jacked alien man; he shouldn't be that hard to find…</i><br/>
Winns eyes brushed over the tree station again but this time a familiar splotch of red caught his eye.<br/>
"MON-EL!?"<br/>
Winn stumbled urgently toward the alien as he bobbed repeatedly and happily up and down on the Christmas tree shaker, his back turned away from the disgruntled little man.<br/>
"Mon-El, you can't-" Winn sighed, walking up to the machine and pressing the button to stop it.<br/>
"Hey! I was-" Mon-El threw his arms up, pouting. A huge grin spread across the larger man as he recognized that it was Winn. "Oh, hi Winn!"<br/>
"Get down from there!" Winn motioned to the ground.<br/>
Mon-El furrowed his brows in confusion but before he could protest, Twinkle Toes the Elf Woman came over.<br/>
"Is that yours?"<br/>
Winn nodded.<br/>
"Fix it."<br/>
Winn nodded again, this time harder and the teenager walked away.<br/>
"What the hell!??" Winn asked.<br/>
Mon-El just shrugged before jumping off the shaker.<br/>
"You cannot just wander off like that! Mon-El, are you listening to me?" Winn exclaimed in an exasperated tone. Mon-El was staring off into the distance.<br/>
Winn looked in the direction Mon-El was looking at and then back at Mon-El. Again, Winn looked in the direction of Mon-El’s eyes, but this time he raised his head and stood on his tippy toes to maybe get a better view but it was no use. Winn lost his balance and fell into Mon-El's firm side. The alien didn't even blink upon the impact. Instead he reached blindly down and fumbled for Winns hand.<br/>
"Come on, I found it,"<br/>
"W-what?" Winn stuttered, his face began to warm as Mon-El dragged the smaller man behind him.<br/>
"What are you-" Winn stumbled behind; his legs struggling to keep up with the long, massive strides of the man in front of him.<br/>
Mon-El finally stopped in front of a beautiful frasier fur about a full head shorter than Mon-El.<br/>
"Oh," Winn observed the tree and basked in its glory. "I see…"<br/>
The two men stood, staring in awe at the beautiful tree. It really was perfect. Full, bright green, not a single dead branch or hole in the branches. Just one, gorgeous, perfectly short and stout Christmas tree.<br/>
"Mon-El, you're a genius…" Winn reached out to touch the needles. He felt them prick and irritate his skin, but the smell of balsam was irresistible. "This is the one… when we bring this back, Kara and Alex are gonna shit themselves."<br/>
Mon-El beamed with pride as Winn marveled at the tree. "Do you think they will forgive me for setting their old one on fire?"<br/>
"What?"<br/>
"Oh, yeah… I set their first one on fire, but it was an accident!"<br/>
Winn shook his head in disbelief.<br/>
"How did you set it on fire?? Do you even know what fire is?"<br/>
Mon-El nodded seriously. "I do now!" He continued, "See, I have been practicing baking lately, because kara leaves the tv on for me when she goes to work."<br/>
Winn nodded. He didn't really care, but he was intrigued regardless.<br/>
"She says it's so I don't get lonely, but I have learned that I quite like the loud woman who cooks and the one where the humans bake things, so I thought I would try it and next thing I know, everything is on fire."<br/>
"I feel like there is more to that story, but I believe you." Winn said.<br/>
"Yeah… the cookies came out good though!"<br/>
Winn had really only been half listening, so he nodded along and said "oh, that's good" but it wasn't because he didn't care enough to listen, it was mainly because Mon-El had yet to let go of his hand.<br/>
No one had ever held Winn's hand for that long, and the fact that they were ice cold and chapped from exposure made the soft human-like warmth even more welcome. The only downside was that the touch was making Winn's brain short circuit completely.<br/>
Mon-El dragged an unusually-quiet Winn around the farm as he tried to find someone to help with the tree. Winn would have helped, but he only had a slight idea of the process himself and struggled to focus on anything other than his now-warmed hand.<br/>
Winn was content to follow a clueless hunky alien through the shop, but his attention was finally torn from their joined hands when he noticed that their pace was quickening.<br/>
“Hey? Mon-El? Where are we going?”<br/>
Mon-El made an excited noise but no real words left his mouth. He let go of Winn’s hand to point ahead of them at a line of children leading to a Santa display.<br/>
Winn stared at Mon-El, silently begging him to be normal in this situation, but Mon-El began to plow his way through the children climbing over the ropes to keep people in order with athletic ease.<br/>
<i>God, he's so beautiful…</i> Winn thought as he watched the hunky alien parkour his way through children and various Christmas displays.<br/>
Before he knew it, he and Mon-El were sitting just outside the parking lot because legally, they were no longer allowed on the tree farm property, courtesy of Twinkle Toes the Elf. But Alex and Kara had the keys to the Honda Civic so instead they stood by the road and watched the cars pass. Mon-El dug into the frozen earth with his hands, unearthing a rock which he threw into the road as a semi truck passed by.<br/>
The Daxomite sighed, a long puff of breath curled into the atmosphere and disappeared.<br/>
The two men hadn't said a word since the 'incident' and Mon-El was taking it hard. Winn was almost frozen to the core, but too caught up in his thoughts to seek out warmth.<br/>
Mon-El sat down into the snow, ignoring how it seeped into the fabric of his jeans and gazed out into the field on the other side of the road.<br/>
He could make this better. He can fix this… Mon-El couldn't stand Winn being mad at him. It was different when Alex or Kara got angry with him. He didn't know why, but it just felt more important for Winn to like him.<br/>
As he sulked, something caught his eye.<br/>
Off in the distance there was a pine tree sapling growing; just across the road and at the edge of the woods next to the corn field.<br/>
It wasn't as good as the first tree he picked out, but it was definitely a tree. Mon-El glanced at the trembling mass beside him that was Winn Schott Jr and knew what he had to do.<br/>
Standing up, not even bothering to wipe the snow off of his jeans or even acknowledge the cold on his now wet pants, he trekked across the road.<br/>
"Mon-El? What are you doing!? Have you lost your mind?? Come back!" Winn shrieked, watching in horror as Mon-El barely dodged a passing semi truck.<br/>
Winn looked like he was about to pass out.<br/>
Meanwhile, Mon-El marched his way up to the forest and began to assess the tiny tree.<br/>
Reaching down, Mon-El grabbed the tree by the bottom of it's trunk and yanked. The stubborn little tree insisted that it would stay in the ground. Mon-El did a little hop backward and adjusted his weight so that this time he lifted with his entire body. The frozen dirt surrounding the trunk began breaking apart as the roots snapped upward, sending dirt all over the snow.<br/>
"Hah! I got it!" Mon-El exclaimed to himself as he proudly held the sapling in one hand. The roots were still tangled with dirt at the bottom. The alien began to make his way back across the road, once again barely making it across without getting hit. Realistically it wouldn't be a problem (at least not for Mon-El) if he were to be hit by a passing car, but the cost of the insurance for the car and the person driving it would be through the roof.<br/>
Mon-El trotted back to Winn and placed the tree at his feet, beaming with pride.<br/>
Winn didn't say anything, he just looked down at the pathetic little tree that had been laid at his feet.<br/>
"Now we can have a tree!" Mon-El barked.<br/>
Winn sighed. "I guess it's better than nothing"<br/>
--<br/>
"What is this?" Alex panted as she and her sister jogged up the way they had left an hour prior.<br/>
"Did you get the tree?" Kara asked.<br/>
Winn held his breath as he eased his way behind Mon-El. "This ones on you, bud."<br/>
'The Look' began to creep across Alex's face and her hand began to twitch.<br/>
Mon-El smiled and laughed nervously.<br/>
"We got a tree…" Mon-El bent over feebly revealing a trembling Winn who looked like a deer in headlights.<br/>
"<i>Winn…</i>" Alex growled, balling up her fists.<br/>
Mon-El shot back up with his hand holding the sapling by the middle of it's skinny little trunk as the gnarled roots dangled pitifully.<br/>
Alex glared daggers at the alien standing in front of her.<br/>
Mon-El nudged the tree closer to the fuming woman.<br/>
"Tree…" the Daxomite squealed feebly.<br/>
"Oh no…" an exhausted Kara moaned from behind her sister.<br/>
Suddenly, Alex yanked the tree out from the aliens hand and charged after him, "I'M GONNA SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS."<br/>
---<br/>
Back at the apartment Mon-El was in the shower washing pine needles and sap out of his hair while Alex locked herself in her bedroom, likely drinking herself to sleep. On the very awkward drive home, Kara had insisted they stop at Walmart, and they used the thirty dollars to buy a fake tree instead.<br/>
Kara lit the fireplace as Winn began to unbox the plastic tree.<br/>
"Oh thank God, I'm freezing." Winn said as he popped the final piece of tape off the cardboard tree box.<br/>
"You didn't warm up in the car?" Kara asked as she plopped down on the couch next to him. She began to help him take pieces out.<br/>
"Not really." Winn rubbed his hands together before inspecting them, "I think I might have frostbite."<br/>
Kara leaned in to examine the damage. His hands looked fine except for some red around the fingertips and generally-chapped appearance.<br/>
"Maybe so, but I think they're just dry from the wind. Hold on, I'll go get you some lotion," Kara bounced off of the couch and disappeared upstairs, leaving just Winn and the tree.<br/>
He heaved and leaned back into the couch; Winn let himself relax a bit. He crossed his arms and mulled over the day in his head. He thought about Alex upstairs in her drunken stupor, pictured Kara in her room looking through dresser drawers for hand lotion, and thought about Mon-El. He tried (with little effort) to not picture the Daxomite naked and dripping in the shower, and doing so anyway just made him feel bad. All he could see was the poor guy scrubbing his head repeatedly with the 3 in 1 body wash trying to get sap out of his hair. Somehow, all of his friends were either suffering or bending over backwards! All because Winn couldn't follow directions. Was he just bad luck all together? This question had plagued Winn since he was a child in foster care. Everywhere he went, chaos always seemed to ensue.<br/>
Winn glanced over at the box of tree parts and then the front door. Kara was handy enough to put this together. She didn't need him and he would probably just get in her way. Winn got up and quietly padded over to the kitchen table to grab his pathetic excuse of a coat that was draped over one of the chairs and started to head out.<br/>
"What are you doing?" Kara’s sweet voice chimed from behind Winn as she came down the stairs with a bottle of peppermint bark scented Bath and Body Works hand cream.<br/>
Winn’s shoulders drooped and he gripped the door knob tighter.<br/>
"Uh, I think I'm just gonna… go," he said, refusing to turn around and look at her. He couldn't bear to see how he had let her down again.<br/>
"Winn," Kara started. She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to coax him into turning around.<br/>
"Please, Kara, I need to go." Winn said, shaking her off as he ripped the door open, forcing Kara to take a step away from him.<br/>
"What is wrong with you?" Kara demanded.<br/>
Winn would have continued to storm out if not for the worried tone in his friend's voice. "I just need to go okay?" Winn shouted and his voice went up three octaves in defense.<br/>
"Bull. shit." Kara crossed her arms and glared at him over the rim of her glasses.<br/>
"Okay, okay fine…. I uh… I left my oven on, I think…" he blatantly lied.<br/>
Kara raised an eyebrow. "Is that really the best you could come up with?"<br/>
Winn shrugged helplessly in response.<br/>
"Winn, it is below zero, pitch black, and it's snowing outside. It’s practically a blizzard, there is no way that I am letting you go out there tonight." As she said this, Kara slowly began to shut the door and coax Winn back Into the apartment.<br/>
"Okay? It's going to be snowing all night! It's only going to get worse, so I may as well go now!" Winn tried to reason.<br/>
"What about the tree?" Kara pouted.<br/>
"Have Mon-El help you."<br/>
"Really?"<br/>
"Did someone say my name?" Mon-El chimed from upstairs, his head following shortly after as he peeked around the staircase.<br/>
"I can't stay here, Kara! Where am I going to sleep? You've got a full house already!"<br/>
"You can sleep on the couch with me." Mon-El offered. Kara's face lit up as she nodded in agreement.<br/>
"Yes, see Winn? Mon-El can share! Or he can just sleep on the floor. It's one night, he can survive!"<br/>
"I can survive," Mon-El smiled gently.<br/>
"See, we've got it all worked out. Now shut the door and-" Kara turned around and stopped when she noticed that Mon-El was standing completely naked at the top of the staircase.<br/>
"Oh god, Mon-El, put some pants on or something!" She shooed the Daxomite into her room where they shared a wardrobe. "Don't they have any decency on Daxom?"<br/>
"Don't be racist, Kara!" came Mon-El's muffled voice.<br/>
Kara just rolled her eyes.<br/>
"Come on, Winn, we can figure something out. You don't need to worry about a thing." She gently led him back into the living room.<br/>
<i>If only it were that simple.</i> Winn thought to himself.<br/>
"You just want me here so I can put the tree together." Winn teased as Kara wrapped her arm around his shoulders and giggled.<br/>
--</p><p>An hour passed and then two, three, and four until the clock read midnight. The group of friends had put the tree up a few hours prior thanks to Winn's impeccable problem solving skills and ability to decipher basic instructions.<br/>
Shortly after their victory, Alex drunkenly wandered down the stairs to see what the fuss was all about and was surprised to see a decorated tree. They made hot chocolate to celebrate their success and the eve of Christmas, and they now sat in the living room talking. The fire was beginning to die and Kara kept nodding off mid sentence.<br/>
"Why don't you just go to bed, Kara?" Alex asked as she collected the discarded hot chocolate mugs from around the room.<br/>
"What time is it?" Kara whined.<br/>
"12:09, past your bedtime." her sister replied from the adjoined kitchen.<br/>
"Supergirl has a bedtime?" Winn asked grinning.<br/>
Kara frowned and crossed her arms as she slid down in her seat.<br/>
"No, but Kara Danvers does," Alex said over the sound of the sink.<br/>
"I will go to bed when I feel like it..."<br/>
"Okay, suit yourself, but I am going to sleep." Responded Alex as she dried her hands on the dish towel.<br/>
"Noooo, stay down here longer!" Kara reached out to grab her sister, who skillfully dodged her needy little sister.<br/>
"Goodnight, Kara" Alex leaned against the doorway with a soft smile on her lips.<br/>
"Ughhh, finee," Kara groaned as she dramatically kicked her legs out in front of her, causing the ottoman to skid across the room, and stood up without use of her arms, flexin’ on ‘em.<br/>
"I guess I'm gonna go to bed now. Winn do you need anything before I leave?"<br/>
"Uhhhh, no, I'm fine."<br/>
"You sure?"<br/>
"Yeah."<br/>
"Okay then, I'm upstairs if you need me." Kara disappeared upstairs.<br/>
"Why did you say that?" Mon-El asked once Kara was out of ear shot.<br/>
"What do you mean?" Winn asked as he stretched.<br/>
"You need <i>PJs</i>."  Mon-El put an unnecessary emphasis on the abbreviation.<br/>
Winn looked at him in confusion.<br/>
"It is human slang for pajamas" Mon-El explained as if he was explaining rocket science.<br/>
"No I know what PJs stand for, I just- I can't ask kara for something dumb like that." Winn replied, crossing his arms and leaning over.<br/>
Mon-El cocked his head in confusion and the two sat there in silence before Mon-El promptly left the room.<br/>
Before Winn could process what was going on, Mon-El returned with a pair of blue flannel sleep pants and grey t-shirt with some high school mascot across the front. Mon-El proceeded to toss said items in Winn’s lap.<br/>
"Mon-El, I-" Winn protested<br/>
"Just take the pajamas. You can't sleep in jeans."<br/>
"These are khakis, first of all, and second, I…" Winn trailed off when he saw the genuine care written on the other man's face.<br/>
"Second of all… thank you…"<br/>
Mon-El smiled in satisfaction.<br/>
"Uh… would it be prudish to ask for a bit of privacy?" Winn asked sheepishly.<br/>
"Oh yeah, not at all!" The Daxomite turned around and faced the wall. "Just tell me when you're done."<br/>
Winn stood up and sighed, "Will do."<br/>
Winn kicked off his shoes and unbuckled his belt, slipping his khakis onto the hardwood floor. He stripped down to his socks and boxers and was suddenly self-conscious of his distended abdomen in the center of the open living space; he looked to see if Mon-El was spying through any reflections, but the man had his hands tightly covering his eyes. Winn quickly pulled on the borrowed pajamas.<br/>
"You can turn around now." Winn said, but just as Mon-El turned around, the flannel bottoms slid off of Winns hips and hit the floor.<br/>
Mon-El immediately slammed the crook of his arm over his eyes, and blindly reached down to pull Winn’s pants up for him.<br/>
"Thank you, but I am capable of doing that myself…" Winn said, gently moving the other man's hand away with his while the other hand grasped at the waistband of the pajama bottoms. He tugged them up, grabbed the drawstring, and pulled them tight, tying them in a small bow at the front of his pants.<br/>
"There," Winn stated to himself and quickly pulled the oversized shirt down to hang over his thighs.<br/>
Mon-El stood up and moved to switch the lights off, leaving only the newly-decorated Christmas tree on. He stared at Winn blankly, waiting for him to take his place on the couch.<br/>
Winn shifted awkwardly and continued to not move toward the couch.<br/>
“Is something wrong?” Mon-El asked.<br/>
“You first,” Winn mumbled.<br/>
Mon-El did not move. “I am too big to sleep on the inside.”<br/>
Winn opened his mouth to argue, but stopped and realized that he would likely be pushed onto the floor if he slept on the edge. He ran a hand through his hair and awkwardly crawled underneath the blankets.<br/>
Mon-El clambered on shortly after and Winn glanced down to see the other man’s calves hanging off the opposite end of the couch. Winn rolled over toward the back of the couch and closed his eyes to sleep.<br/>
"Do trees feel pain?"<br/>
"Goodnight Mon-El."<br/>
--<br/>
From his crevice of the crowded couch, Winn was pulled from his slumber by a warm weight on his chest. Not opening his eyes yet, his limbs began to wake up from under the mound of fleece blankets. He couldn't yet tell where he ended and the fabric began. Winn shifted a little. The first discernable sensation was a thick arm flung over his torso leading to a body that rested slightly on top of him.<br/>
Winn blinked his eyes open, but they didn't adjust quickly. It wasn't yet morning, and nothing but faint christmas tree lights lent him aid. He relaxed into the cushion, glad to know that he didn't have to move from this warm cocoon of blanket and limbs.<br/>
Wait.<br/>
Limbs.<br/>
He craned his neck to find his couch-mate happily asleep and taking more than his share of the space. Winn was laid flat on his back, Mon-El facedown and slightly on top of Winn. He had one arm wrapped around Winn's chest and one leg tangled below.<br/>
Winn sighed. He wasn't bothered by the body that intruded on his personal space, no, he was bothered by how <i>nice</i> Mon-El's weight felt pressed against him.<br/>
The impossible comfort that he felt each morning before he forced himself out of bed, like his bed was the softest place in the world. This was the same feeling, under the alien's weight, but amplified. Winn was too tired for the longing that began to blossom in his chest.<br/>
I should go back to sleep, he thought, I shouldn't torture myself. Ignoring his own thoughts, he shifted his weight just slightly to face the sleeping man. The small movement stirred Mon-El just enough that the unconscious man tightened his hold around Winn and pulled the two closer together.<br/>
Winn held his breath, afraid to wake Mon-El. He didn't want this secret moment to end. Mon-El didn't show any signs of waking, and Winn eased, allowing himself to be held. To enjoy being held. The ache that had settled in his bones from a month of exhaustion and deprivation was there as always, but it was settled by the Daxamite's touch. The starving pang that usually ate away at him from inside now subsided to a comfortable sort of ache. Their faces were only mere inches apart now and Winn indulged himself. He studied the details of Mon-El's face that he missed in the quick glances he stole during the days. This moment felt... sacred. Winn feared that he would never be allowed this view ever again, but the fear hardly eclipsed the deepening feeling in his chest. It felt as if his ribs were on the verge of sinking and bursting all at once.<br/>
His eyes settled on Mon-El's parted lips. During the day, Mon-El was a true alien: far from Winn's reach. A distant star that Winn could bathe in the warmth of, but never touch. But now, in the unreal hours of morning-night, Mon-El was undeniably touchable. Winn wanted to close the space between their mouths. He struggled to push the thought from his mind, but before he could give into his longing, the lips he was staring at stirred and mumbled something.<br/>
"Winn.." he breathed in sleep. Winn was startled from his fantasies of kisses. Was Mon-El dreaming about him? He could only imagine what sort of degrading scenario that Dream-Winn was living.<br/>
Winn whispered, barely audible to even himself, to the sleeping alien, "Why don't you dream about Supergirl or... Superman? Winn is no fun." He sulked, talking to himself more than anything. Despite this, his words carried through the veil of sleep and caused Mon-El's brow to furrow.<br/>
"No.." he argued softly, still asleep, startling Winn once again. "Winn is...nice." His expression fell to peace once again and left Winn with tangled heartstrings.<br/>
This one word was finally too much for Winn's tired heart, and he would have fled had he not been trapped between Mon-El and the cushions. He didn't know what to feel, but couldn't help but feel that he wasn't supposed to be here. The feeling of comfort that Winn had savored was gone. The moment was gone. He took a deep, shaky breath, but stopped short when Mon-El's eyelids began to flutter.<br/>
He froze as Mon-El opened his eyes and a grin spread over his face at the sight of Winn. Still heavy with sleep, Mon-El leaned forward and caught Winn's chapped lips in a kiss. Now Winn had to wonder if he was the one who was dreaming. They slowly pulled apart and stared at one another.<br/>
"...Mon-El?"<br/>
The dreamy, satisfied look on Mon-El's face faded as he realized that he was no longer dreaming and that he had actually kissed Winn. Both men were lost for words.<br/>
Mon-El opened his mouth like he had something to say, but closed it again. He desperately wanted to remedy the situation, but had absolutely nothing to say. Without thinking, he gently leaned in and kissed Winn again.<br/>
Winn had a million questions but no words to ask with. He wanted to pull away and tell Mon-El that he can't solve every problem with his lips. But, alas, he was weak and sunk into the kiss, reaching across to hold Mon-El's face. This kiss was different than the last that they had shared, on Thanksgiving. The space between their slotted lips was full of wanting. Winn could tell, or at least he hoped, from the desperate way that Mon-El clung to him that he had also wanted to rekindle the flame that they lit last holiday. Their last kiss had been a flame that burned bright and died quick, but the way they silently grasped each other now was different. Their mouths burned deeply and slowly.<br/>
They pulled away from each other, breathing heavily, and sunk into the pillow. Mon-El was the first to break the silence.<br/>
"...Is this going to end like last time?" he asked with genuine concern, but a hint of hope displayed on his face.<br/>
Winn bit back a warm smile, "I don't want this to ever end."<br/>
Mon-El’s face crumbled with relief. Winn tugged him closer and they once again stitched their lips together, less gingerly than before. Winn laced one arm around Mon-El’s back and pressed his fingers between the muscles there, tracing the patterns that rippled beneath his skin as those hands traversed over Winn’s soft pajamas. He held Winn’s thigh that bent forward, tangled in his own legs, and gently shook the soft flesh, breaking their kiss a moment to watch the tremor ripple through Winn’s thigh. Winn gasped, softly, and Mon-El looked back up at him with awe. He delicately shifted Winn onto his back and settled on top of him, careful to put his weight on his forearms rather than on the man beneath him. Winn held Mon-El’s face and reached upwards with his open mouth, closing his eyes and licking the inside of Mon-El’s lower lip.<br/>
Their embraces were tender and slow, laden with the sleep they neglected. This is why it came as a surprise when Mon-El pushed himself off of Winn, sitting up on his lap, and asked, “Can I take your pants off?”<br/>
Winn gawked at him. As horny as Winn usually was, he was enjoying the sweet moment, and was also too weary for anything more demanding. A blush crept up his face and he wasn’t sure how to answer. Would Mon-El get the wrong idea if he said no?<br/>
Mon-El, still waiting for an answer, quietly supplied: “I really like touching your legs...they’re soft.”<br/>
Winn’s nerves dissipated and he breathily laughed, nodding in response to the endearing request.<br/>
He sat back and allowed Winn to pull his legs from beneath him. Both men sat upright now, and Winn leaned against the back of the sofa with his feet rested on either side of Mon-El, his knees bent at almost right angles. Mon-El eagerly scooted forward and slowly slid the flannel bottoms off, revealing Winn’s goose-pimpled legs until only his black boxers and white socks remained.<br/>
He gently held Winn’s thighs in each hand, not quite sure what to do now. Winn sleepily watched as Mon-El lightly jiggled his thighs and pressed his fingers into the soft flesh. He planted a kiss on Winn’s knee as he once again watched the flesh ripple with disturbance. His mouth slowly traveled proximal, and left lazy kisses in its wake. He pressed circles into the inner thighs with his thumbs; this made Winn gasp. The skin there was sensitive and the touches almost ticklish, but made him hum with pleasure.<br/>
Winn closed his eyes and leaned further into the sofa head, contented by the warm hands that squeezed and caressed his legs. He drowsily smiled and Mon-El was glad to see it; it was a rare smile that he had seldom seen before, the kind of smile that flashed as Winn showed him his favorite movie or received praise from Kara.<br/>
He dragged his mouth upwards across Winn’s dark leg hair and leaned forward, aiming to kiss his hip bone. He nudged Winn’s shirt up and pressed his lips to the skin above his waist band, but stopped when he caught a flash of yellowed skin creeping out from beneath his clothing. He pulled away slightly and slowly lifted Winn’s shirt to inspect the bruise. It slowly turned from yellow to purple. With increasing concern, he quickly pushed the shirt up to reveal Winn’s entire abdomen. Winn’s eyes flew open and he moved to push his shirt back down, but stopped and let his arms fall at his side. There was no hiding, Mon-El’s jaw had already fallen slack at the sight.<br/>
A splotchy bruise sprawled over Winn’s midsection, centered over his deep purple navel. His midsection… swelled outwards, like something was inside. The bulge wasn’t unnaturally large, and would have been unsuspecting if not for the discoloration and abnormal firmness. Throbbing, distinct veins webbed over the area, making the bump look even more sickly.<br/>
Winn, already acquainted with his own malformed growth, watched the alien’s shocked expressions. He hesitantly poked one of the varicose veins, but quickly drew his hand back at the wince that Winn let out. He sat up, hunched over the bump, and looked up at Winn with worried eyes.<br/>
“Is this why you were sick?” His gaze seemed to understand the situation, at least the biology, and Winn was grateful that he didn’t have to attempt to explain.<br/>
“Yeah.” He nodded in response, “But, I think I’m through the worst of it. For now at least.”<br/>
Mon-El covered one of Winn’s hands with his own. He smiled with relief upon hearing that Winn was better, but his smile fell and his face twisted into a puzzle. Mon-El was slowly working something out, but Winn could only watch the journey and wait. All at once, his color drained, and the confusion in his eyes was replaced with fear. He tightened his grip on Winn’s hand and met their eyes once more, “I-” he paused. “Is it.. mine?”<br/>
Winn’s eyes widened and he lurched forward, grabbing Mon-El’s other hand, “No!” he frantically replied, “No- um. This happened before Thanksgiving.” This confession released the tension from Mon-El's grip and he sighed.<br/>
Winn expected judgement in response. He expected to be grilled about what had happened and shunned for spreading his legs to every alien that passed his way. But not even a frown crossed Mon-El’s face. Instead, he tugged Winn’s shirt back down and laced their fingers together. They sat in a comfortable silence with their limbs still tangled together.<br/>
With his new understanding of Winn Schott Jr, the pieces in Mon-El’s mind clicked together. After Thanksgiving, he thought that Winn never wanted to see him again. They had barely spoken until today during their tree fiasco. Winn’s longer, unkempt hair and sunken eyes told Mon-El how hard that the last month had been. He could imagine the ailments that had made Winn disappear for a week. Whenever he had asked what was wrong, Kara and Alex just mumbled something vague about Winn being sick and changed the topic, making Mon-El think that he was just avoiding him. But now, holding Winn’s weary hands, he understood how much was on the other man’s shoulders.<br/>
Winn shivered as a draft reminded him that his legs were still bare. He drew his legs closer to his body and squinted at the nearby clock. 3:17 am. How long had he been awake for? As much as Winn wanted to cling to this intimate moment, holding each other under the soft Christmas tree lighting until the sun rose, he found himself fighting to not drift off. “Mon-El?” He pulled him closer by their joined hands, “I’m tired.”<br/>
Mon-El nodded and drew him in for another kiss. The two men sunk into the couch and Mon-El carefully drew the blankets over the pair.<br/>
Winn pressed their foreheads together and rested his hand on Mon-El’s cheek, rubbing his thumb over the stubble. “Thank you,” he whispered with his eyes already shut. Mon-El tilted his chin forward and stole one last kiss from Winn before protectively wrapping both arms around his body, one resting in the small of his back and the other raked through his hair. Winn pulled his hand down to rest on Mon-El’s chest and let the alien heartbeat lull him to sleep.<br/>
--<br/>
Alex, sluggish and hungover, plodded down the stairs. She was momentarily blinded by the sunlight that streamed in through the window and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She started toward the kitchen, planning to make herself black coffee with a shot stirred in, but halted as she passed the couch.<br/>
She blinked at the couch. Winn's head rested on Mon-El's chest and he was being tightly held by the other man. Ugh. She wasn't surprised to see the two of them all over each other, but at least they had clothing on this time. She leaned in and lightly sniffed the scene. Nothing suspicious… maybe they had behaved themselves.<br/>
“Merry Christmas.” she grumbled to the sleeping men.</p><p>Not long after Alex made her coffee, Kara came barreling down the stairs humming Deck the Halls.<br/>
"Merry Christmas!" Kara hollered as she slid in her footie pajamas into the kitchen and threw open the fridge. Kara slammed the can of pillsbury cinnamon rolls on the counter, popping it open and excitedly spreading the dough discs on a stone for the oven.<br/>
The scent of baking cinnamon wafted out to the living room and the sleeping men. "OH SHIT CINNAMON ROLLS FUCK YES." Mon-El fell out of the couch, scaring the shit out of Winn, and scrambled to the kitchen.<br/>
--<br/>
Mon-El stood at the kitchen sink brushing his teeth after breakfast. Winn was sitting at the counter finishing his cinnamon roll.<br/>
"Are you going to brush your teeth?" Mon-El asked through a mouth full of suds.<br/>
"Uh, probably not. I don't have a tooth brush here."<br/>
Mon-El pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth and held it out to Winn, toothpaste dripping down the handle and onto the kitchen counter. "You can borrow mine."<br/>
Winn stared at the soggy tooth brush in horror. "Ew, no that's disgusting!" He looked at the brush and backed away from it like it carried the plague. He dropped his fork and let it clatter against his plate; the toothbrush had killed his appetite.<br/>
Mon-El looked at Winn like he was stupid. "Your tongue was literally inside my mouth hole like four hours ago."<br/>
Winn took a sip of his water and grabbed the toothbrush from Mon-El.<br/>
"Fair enough."<br/>
--<br/>
After breakfast, Kara and Alex worked on the sticky dishes (women amirite) and Winn, still groggy, sipped coffee and watched the snow from the window near the tree.<br/>
Mon-El followed him out of the kitchen and, to Winn’s surprise, wrapped his arms around Winn’s waist from behind.<br/>
Winn flinched, shocked by the sudden domestic act, and his coffee spilt a little in the commotion. “What are you doing?” he whispered to Mon-El.<br/>
Mon-El, hardly bothered, leaned forward to plant a kiss on Winn’s cheek.<br/>
Kisses and confessions were one thing at night, when he could pretend like he was about to wake up at any moment, but in the clarity of daylight, Winn was frightened by intimacy. He was especially scared that the sisters might walk out and see the public display of affection.<br/>
He attempted to wrestle out of Mon-El’s hold, but the toned arms didn’t let up. Mon-El was about to ask what was wrong when, in his struggle, Winn lost his footing and tumbled out of the alien’s arms.<br/>
Winn stumbled backwards into the Christmas tree. Mon-El lurched forward but his alien reflexes could only catch one. When faced with the split-second decision of saving a Christmas tree or his pregnant boyfriend (were they boyfriends now?), the choice was obvious. Winn found himself suspended two feet above the ground by two ripped arms. He instinctively wrapped his arms around Mon-El’s neck and caught his breath. The moment might have been romantic if it hadn’t been followed by a series of shattering sounds as the poor tree flopped against the ground.<br/>
Mon-El pulled the two men upright again, but neither of them let go of each other. They stared at one another with wide eyes, neither of them daring to look at the tree.<br/>
Alex, having heard the shattering from the kitchen, stormed into the living room, broom in still-wet hands, and shouted. The two men pulled each other closer in fear as Alex hurtled toward them and started swinging.<br/>
---<br/>
The Christmas tree effort was abandoned and the gifts had been fished from the glass and branches. It had mostly been forgotten, and spirits lifted as they exchanged gifts.<br/>
Alex reluctantly opened the last present in the small gift pile next to her. It was crudely wrapped in tin foil and taped together with packing tape.<br/>
"That one's from me!" Mon-El pointed as he was practically shaking with anticipation.<br/>
"I can see that…" Alex said as she pried open the tin foil. Her face paled.<br/>
"Do you like it?" Mon-El asked, rocking back and forth in his seat.<br/>
Alex, horrified, held up a very obviously dead pigeon.<br/>
"It's a bird! I named him Frank! He made his house outside your window, and I thought "it must be cold out there" so I grabbed him and brought him to live with us."<br/>
Alex didn't say anything. She just stared at the dead bird in her lap.<br/>
Mon-El got up and looked at the bird. He grabbed the bird and tossed it into the air. It fell onto the coffee table with a horrible slap.<br/>
"Oh…. He was definitely alive when I wrapped him…."<br/>
"Ahahaha, next present!!!!" Kara said through a forced smile. She refused to look at the bird corpse on her coffee table.<br/>
"I think that was the last one" Winn said, pawing through the discarded wrapping paper. He only had gotten two presents, but the situation with Alex made him grateful that he hadn't received a gift from Mon-El.<br/>
"Wait wait! There's one more present for you, Winn!" Mon-El said from the other room. Winn's heart dropped. Mon-El returned with an unwrapped book in his hands.<br/>
Winn breathed a sigh of relief.<br/>
Mon-El sat down next to Winn on the sofa and handed him the book. Winn found himself staring at a children’s book:<i>Frog and Toad</i>. He found himself grateful that his animals were illustrated. The gift-giver wrapped one arm around Winn’s waist from the side and pointed at the pair of amphibians with his other. The adult fingers seemed out of place against the illustration. With his index finger he tapped the drawing and stated matter-of-factly to Winn, “That’s us.”<br/>
Winn looked up from the book at Mon-El. “The frogs are us?”<br/>
Mon-El nodded, but did not say anything else.<br/>
Winn leafed through the thin book with confusion, choosing to ignore the library borrowing card in the front cover. Do frogs and toads even get along in real life? That’s funny, Winn thought, maybe they are a little like us. An alien and human finding solace and comfort in one another. He gently touched an illustration of Frog and Toad tucked into bed next to one another. His hand was joined when Mon-El covered it with his own larger hand.<br/>
Winn looked up at Mon-El and smiled, absurdly emotional over a picture book about gay frogs.<br/>
Alex tore her eyes from the dead bird on the table to glare at the lovebirds on the couch.<br/>
“You guys make me homophobic.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>peg the halls with dicks and balls fa la la lalallallwksoifwrhnw</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>